Before your braces are installed

Preliminary Diagnosis

Your New York Orthodontist will book an appointment with you to come in and get X-rays and molds of your mouth done. This comprises full panoramic x-rays of your mouth along with x-rays for all your teeth.

Depending on your orthodontist, s/he may take some photos of your teeth to act as before shots.

Finally, molds of your teeth will be taken with some tooth putty.

At this point you’ll go home while your orthodontist comes up with a treatment plan.

Your new Treatment Plan

Your New York Orthodontist will look at all the information that’s been collected to come up with the treatment plan for you! S/he’ll be watching out for things like gaps in your teeth, how your jaw aligns, your bite and any other treatments specific to you.

This will be documented in a treatment plan that will be reviewed with you. At this time, feel free to ask all the questions because once you’ve decided, there may not be any turning back.

Not so fast though! There’s prep work that needs to be done.

Prep Work

Some of the things that may need to happen before putting the braces on include:

Spacers installed between your teeth if the spacing is tight. These are installed for about a week and are uncomfortable and unpleasant. The good news is that they aren’t in there for long!

Tooth extraction may be required if certain teeth are preventing proper spacing in your mouth. This can be done before or during the treatment depending on your mouth conditions.

Teeth cleaning is highly recommended to be done by a professional. The braces on your teeth will make it hard for you to clean them so it’s best to get it taken care of first. Any cavities or tooth conditions should also be dealt with before you get braces. If you have wisdom teeth, they may or may not need to be removed. Your orthodontist will make that call.

Jaw Surgery may be required if you are an adult and have a complicated case. This can happen during the installation of your braces, but may also occur after depending on what your orthodontist feels is the best course of action.

We know that getting braces for yourself or your child is a challenging experience so we've created this site to help you make an informed choice about your orthodontist. Welcome and we hope that your journey is a wonderful one.